Conventionally, there is a need to reduce a first copy output time (FCOT) in a copying apparatus, that is to say, to reduce the time from a copy start instruction to the output of the first sheet. A technique for reducing the FCOT time in a copying apparatus by moving a document-scanning carriage to a position at which a white reference plate is arranged when a document tray changes from an open to closed position, and then by waiting for a copy start instruction, is discussed in Patent Citations 1 and 2.
In Patent Citation 1, a white reference plate is read according to a copy start instruction. In Patent Citation 2, a white reference plate is read without waiting for a copy start instruction. Both the proposals in Patent Citations 1 and 2 enable a reduction in the time from the copy start instruction to the start of document reading when compared with a configuration in which a carriage is moved to a white reference plate position after receiving a copy start instruction. These proposals are configured to accelerate the carriage from the white reference plate position upon receiving a copy start instruction and to scan the document on a document positioning glass plate.